I am digging into how the #6502 CPU works, as I write my own emulator for the #Arduino, and the #Kim1 microprocessor board has caught my interest. So I thought I would see what eBay has to offer.

OMG! Yes, you can buy a Kim1 harking from 1979... For £1700+ 😱

Another browser tab has an open source #Kim1 emulator that will easily run on my #ArduinoMega ✔️

Hmm, yes, I think that will be the path I take, hell yes!

Just need to work out how to drop in my CPU to be able to do comparative testing. 👍

Old DVD stepper motor reanimated (60rpm)

https://makertube.net/videos/watch/92fb1fcf-a2a8-4042-baa7-c64a43708826

Old DVD stepper motor reanimated (x2)

https://makertube.net/w/59V5WTxiwR5pUW4TfgHceA

Old DVD stepper motor reanimated (100rpm)

https://makertube.net/videos/watch/c8a35c99-0076-4fd8-8e1c-77aafcd40c75

3D Print A Colour TV

The oldest form of television used a spinning disk with a progression of holes -- a Nipkow disk -- to slice the image into lines for display. They're surprisingly simple machines and capable of unexpectedly high-quality images despite their relatively low resolution. Even better, in an age of microcontrollers and bright LEDs, making one that works is not the chore it might once have been. [James Provost] has created one that uses an Arduino Mega and a set of 3D printed parts, so there's no excuse for not having a spinning disk TV on your shelf.

The Arduino Mega is chosen because it has enough lines to drive three six-bit DACs for each of red, green, and blue. The disk is driven by a PWM motor controller, and synchronisation is taken care of by a piece of reflective tape and an IR proximity sensor. Images and video are read from an SD card and displayed on the screen in glorious 32-line colour. The full build process can be seen in the video below the break.

A surprise when viewing mechanical TV is that its quality is much better than the meager resolution would have you believe, and this one with its colour display is much better than the usual monochrome devices. It's hardly HDTV, but it acquits itself well and would provide an excellent talking point.

If you're curious about Nipkow disks, they're a subject we've examined in the past.

#arduinohacks #arduinomega #colortv #mechanicaltv #nipkowdisk

Monitor For Bedridden Patients Aims To Improve Care

One of the joys of being a Maker and Hacker is solving problems and filling needs. When you can do both, well, that's something special. [rodrigo.mejiasz]'s project surely fits into that special category of solving a problem and filling a dire need with his Bedridden Patient Monitor.

While [Rodrigo]'s project page does not specify his motivation for creating this project, one only needs to look as far as their local hospital ward or senior care facility to understand why this device is so wonderful. Healthcare workers and caregivers are stretched paper thin, and their attention is being constantly interrupted.

This is where the Bedridden Patient Monitor comes in. A healthy person can reposition themselves if they are uncomfortable, but bedridden patients cannot. It's not just that a bedridden patient is unable to get out of bed, but that they are unable to move themselves without assistance. The result is a great amount of pain. And if left unchecked, pressure sores can be the result. These are not only extremely unpleasant, but an added danger to a patients health.

The Bedridden Patient Monitor steps in and provides not just an egg-timer like alert, but helps caregivers track a patients position in bed across even several working shifts. This ensures a continuity of care that might otherwise be easy to miss.

The beauty of this build is in its application but also its simplicity: it's just an Arduino Mega, a TFT shield with its Micro SD card, and the touch screen itself. A few LED's and a buzzer take care of alerts. A thoughtfully configured interface makes the devices use obvious so that staff can make immediate use of the monitor.

Makers have a long history diving into the medical field, such as this stab wound treatment device that won the Dyson award in 2021.

#medicalhacks #arduinomega #biomedical #medical #tft